Where Are We Sleeping Tonight?

The Nine-Tails reared halfway up, its head tilted back and its mouth wide open as a black sphere quickly formed inside.

"Tailed Beast Bomb! That monster's making a Tailed Beast Bomb! Stop it!"

"It's too late!" Uchiha Fugaku frowned deeply from within the crowd.

Most of the Konoha Ninja present had lived through the Third Shinobi World War. Many had seen a Tailed Beast Bomb on the battlefield and knew how powerful the thing was.

You couldn't stand your ground against something like that. You had to dodge.

"Everyone, scatter!" someone shouted.

"The Nine-Tails is firing at the village!"

As the Tailed Beast Bomb rapidly took shape, everyone's heart sank.

But just then, a red toad dropped from the sky and landed squarely on the Nine-Tails' head.

Gamabunta's sudden landing knocked the Nine-Tails' aim off course. Its Tailed Beast Bomb blasted into the forest beyond the village, and the Nine-Tails itself was left dazed by the impact.

"It's the Hokage!" Someone recognized that the one who had summoned Gamabunta was Namikaze Minato, who had rushed to the scene.

The Yellow Flash had arrived on the battlefield, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Namikaze Minato, undefeated in battle during the Third Shinobi World War, had left an indelible impression on the Konoha Ninja. As long as he was there, there was no problem he couldn't solve!

Seeing that Namikaze Minato was still alive, Uchiha Fugaku also breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't especially afraid of the Nine-Tails. No matter how powerful it was, in his eyes it was nothing more than a toy. If he hadn't been wary of certain things, he could have taken the Nine-Tails down in a single move!

Gamabunta had made a dazzling entrance, but the gap between him and the Nine-Tails was still enormous. Before long, the Nine-Tails had him pinned down, and a second Tailed Beast Bomb began to form.

The Nine-Tails created Tailed Beast Bombs quickly. In just a few breaths, the second was nearly complete. Namikaze Minato didn't dare delay and whisked it away as well.

The Tailed Beast Bomb exploded in the distant forest, sending flames surging into the sky and lighting up the night as bright as day.

Namikaze Minato appeared before the crowd once more. With a flash of the Flying Thunder God, he vanished from Konoha along with the Nine-Tails' enormous body.

"You, return to the village and reassure the villagers. I'm going to find Minato!"

With that, Sarutobi Hiruzen disappeared into the night with a group of Anbu Ninja.

With the Nine-Tails gone, the fighting in Konoha died down.

Naoki looked around. The injured Konoha Ninja and members of the Police Force were supporting one another as they headed for treatment. The hostility and division between them from when the Police Force had first arrived were nowhere to be seen.

It was a good start.

They couldn't completely dispel the suspicion and resentment caused by the belief that the Sharingan had brought about the Nine-Tails Incident. But after fighting side by side, they had at least put an end to the rumor that "the Nine-Tails was a Uchiha conspiracy," averting the trust crisis that would otherwise have caused endless harm in the future.

It was hard to say what effect this would have in the long run. For now, though, he was quite satisfied.

"What are you muttering to yourself about over here?"

Uchiha Zongxin's voice came from behind him. He looked a little tired, with a bandage wrapped around his left arm, but his spirits seemed decent.

"You're hurt? How'd that happen?"

Uchiha Zongxin shook his head. "Just my rotten luck. Forget it—it's only a superficial wound. The Medical Team said I'd be fine in two days."

Naoki looked at the rubble around them and sighed.

"Who knows how many people lost their lives tonight, or how many families were torn apart. Compared with all that, your little injury is a stroke of luck."

Uchiha Zongxin pursed his lips, as if he wanted to say something, but didn't...

"If something's on your mind, just say it. Do we really have to keep secrets from each other?"

"Fine, I'll say it." Uchiha Zongxin leaned closer and studied Naoki carefully. "You've been acting really different tonight. Did you hit your head and change your personality?"

Naoki smiled. "Since you asked, I'll tell you. While I was unconscious, I had a dream."

"What kind of dream?"

"I dreamed about Konoha ten years from now."

"Oh?" Uchiha Zongxin perked up. "How's the Uchiha Clan doing ten years from now? Has one of our ninja become Hokage or Hokage Advisor?"

"No. Neither," Naoki said, shaking his head.

"Why not?"

"How should I know?"

"If you don't know anything, what's the difference between having that dream and not having it?"

"Exactly. I thought it was some weird, muddled dream too. But later, I figured it out. Maybe the Sage of Six Paths was secretly trying to tell me something. The clan always says we Uchiha are descendants of the Sage of Six Paths, after all..."

At first, Uchiha Zongxin had listened with keen interest. But once Naoki mentioned the Sage of Six Paths, he realized Naoki was just messing with him.

"Oh, get out of here. The Sage of Six Paths is ancient history. You think he'd send you a dream? For all we know, he might not even have existed."

"Haha, I'm kidding. But I really did have that dream..."

Uchiha Zongxin scoffed, then shook his head and waved goodbye before Naoki could finish.

After a whole night of chaos, the sky was beginning to brighten by the time Naoki got home.

He opened the door and walked into his familiar home, marveling at his good luck.

The Nine-Tails had rampaged through the village, and nearly half the buildings in Konoha had been destroyed, yet his house had escaped unscathed.

"Thank goodness." Naoki washed up quickly, then lay on his bed, muttering, "If the Nine-Tails had wrecked my home, where would I sleep tonight?"

"Yeah, where are we sleeping tonight?"

Looking at his ruined home, Uchiha Zongxin pulled a long face.

"This is such a headache."

Uchiha Zongye had been exhausted after a long day's work. He hadn't expected to come home to a scene like this.

"Let's make do at the Police Force for the night."

"Why go to the Police Force?" Uchiha Zongxin shook his head. "We saved Naoki's life last night. He'd be stiff by now if we hadn't. Let's go to his place!"

"Is that really appropriate?"

Uchiha Zongye feigned hesitation. After all, he and Naoki weren't the same age, and he felt a little awkward about doing that.

"What's inappropriate about it?"

As he spoke, Uchiha Zongxin dragged his older brother away.

Naoki, fast asleep, suddenly heard a faint rustling nearby.

He snapped his eyes open, sprang out of bed, and quietly grabbed the broom from the corner. Tiptoeing, he made his way toward the kitchen, where the sounds were coming from.

A thief?

His Sharingan quietly activated in the dark, its Double-Tomoe slowly turning.

The kitchen door opened with a creak, followed by a hushed conversation:

"Bro, Naoki's got pudding in his fridge!"

"Put it down. We're here to borrow a place to stay, not steal snacks."

"I'm just looking... Whoa, it's milk-flavored!"

Naoki appeared in the kitchen doorway, broom in hand. His Sharingan gave off a faint red glow in the dark, and his voice was ominous. "You two—what business brings you to my humble abode in the middle of the night?"